reflection

Last night I got home from work, changed clothes, opened a beer and proceeded to clean the apartment. All afternoon at work, cleaning the apartment was all I could think about and there was no way I could focus on anything else as long as I hadn't mopped the floors and emptied the fridge of old food. Afterward I realized that cleaning the house is my way of getting ready for the new year.

As 2010 draws to a close and 2011 looms in the (very) near future, I can hardly believe all that has happened this past year and I am thrilled to be entering into a new one! This time last year i was sitting on a beach in Cuba. Who the heck knows where next Dec. 29 will find me. In 2011 I returned to the states, got out of the Army, moved to a new state/city and began a whole new career. I started dating a new person and got that dog I promised myself in basic training. I also lost Petunia, who was the best cat ever.


Looking forward, I have so many plans and aspirations. I've got big plans for 2011 folks! However, no matter what I want to make sure I take time to enjoy what I have right now and not miss the present while planning the future. I want to spend time with Beulah, go outdoors more, take care of my health (mentally and physically), read good books, watch good movies, drink good coffee, etc.

So, as the last few days of 2010 fly by I'll be preparing myself for all the good to come and making space in my head and heart to thoroughly enjoy every moment! Cheers!

our christmas

Beulah and I had a good little holiday. We're all rested up now (her more so than me) and last night I even found the energy to take down the Christmas decorations. Note: I now have a table again!!! Yay!

Without further ado:

We started out with a Christmas tree and pretty wrapped gifts.


I loved them all , but hated to unwrap the shiny boxes!!


However, as soon as I did, Beulah got a little mileage out of the wrapping. Now I feel like we got at least twice the pleasure from the wrapping. Even better than recycling!!


Before we knew it we were in North Carolina (one of my favorite states) and lo and behold... there was snow. Lots of snow. Weirdly. My Christmas wish came true.


Then the snow was followed by the only thing better; a pig-picking in the snow!! Man, it was good. And all I had to do was consume a few adult beverages with the chefs and pick the pork right off the grill.


Beulah even got a special treat (I try not to be too grossed out, but she sure enjoyed it!).

Boy, did we have a good time! It was such a welcome break from the every day and we made the most of it!

home again

Good morning! After a great holiday weekend and an adventurous trip home, Beulah and I are back to real life. We had a good time doing all the things you do when you get a break from the daily grind.


And now we're both knackered!

I hope you had a great holiday! Just a few more days and another year will begin!

tangled up in yarn

Last night Beulah had a little altercation with my leftover ball of Christmas yarn.


It wasn't pretty, but she held her own.

christmas countdown

I can hardly believe Christmas is two days away. Seems time has just crept up on me and every time I turn around it's another holiday, another season, another year. When did this start happening? Somewhere around.... 2003ish. Hoo boy. Time to play catch-up.

My goal this Christmas was to look for the deeper meaning in this season and to experience it without stressing over un-important things. That being said, there are a few things that need to be accomplished before launching out on Christmas morning. Luckily, they are all fun!!

Christmas Countdown

• Bake and decorate cookies for gift tins
• Whip up a batch of home-made marshmallows for said tins
• Bring Beulah to work on Christmas Eve (her first office trip)
• Meet up with Esther and Charlie for Christmas fun
• "Pig Pickin" this weekend in North Carolina

And the best part is, I hear there may be a chance of snow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

glamming it up

Beulah and I both got our hair done, just in time for Christmas. May I just say that mine was far cheaper than hers?? Now this fluffy puppy and faux red-head are ready to party!

yarn and gluhwein

Another cozy night in Casa Emily...


The tail end of Christmas knitting is still on track and I seem to be drinking a record amount of Gluhwein. Good times.

evening peace

Monday is winding to a close. In my office we are lucky enough to have a full wall of windows, looking out over a walkway and some trees that block out the street below. It's already getting dark at 4:30 p.m. and I am finishing up the last little bit of writing and research for the day and looking forward to getting home to my little Beulah. This evening we have an adventure planned; a trip to the dog store in old towne to pick up some puppy food and say hi to the nice folks who work there. After that I think we'll spend the evening indoors, working on another installation of baking extraordinaire.

On nights like this I feel so blessed to be where I am right now. Most days I am full of plans and wants and hopes for the future, but tonight I just feel quiet and content. Tonight I'm going to enjoy my lovely puppy, get flour all over myself and maybe even complete one more knitting project. Most of all, I'm going to just enjoy the peace.

so it begins

The Christmas baking marathon has officially begun! I have purposely held off this year, with the idea that I didn't want to burn out too soon. It wasn't easy not baking, but really, how many times can you bring cookies to work?? However, that's all behind me now. Plans for Christmas Day are coming fast and furious (two households to bake for as of right now) and I can't forget the poor dears who will be sitting in the office with me half-day on Christmas Eve.

Today's photos are from the first batch of cookies this year. I used a recipe from my favorite cookbook, the Southern Living one my father gave me several years ago. (On a side note, if you have to have one cookbook I highly recommend one from Southern Living one. Incredible doesn't even begin to describe.) It's easy and fast and fun. In the interest of simplicity, I stuck with star, snowman and tree shapes. No more of the more fragile candy canes for me! No siree. Next batch I'm leaving out the snowman too. Stars and trees all the way.

More to follow in the series :)

work

My latest "baby" is up on the website! Every month I am responsible for an electronic magazine which profiles a person, team, organization or event in the Military Health System. Click here to read about the U.S. Air Force and their unique (and quite frankly, brilliant) International Health Specialist program. These guys are the cutting edge of the President's new and improved Global Health Initiative.

P.S. If you look closely at the background photo on page 7, you will see one of the many I took while I was in Chile a few years back, covering Operation Southern Star. That was a good time!

snow!!

While I was sitting at work yesterday it finally snowed!!! Not a whole lot or for a very long time, but enough to count. As a result, we all left work a little early and headed home to enjoy.

This was Beulah's first snow and she had a ball!! But, you can see for yourself.






An hour after heading outdoors we came back in, covered in white stuff and tired out from all the running and chasing. Boy, was that fun!

like eyes in the back of my head

When I put up my little Christmas tree the only (safe) place to put it was on top of the only table I own. So, now my workspace has moved to the kitchen counter.


This has had two effect on my normal "working" habits:

The first is that they have slowed down, due to the fact that I must stand at the counter. It isn't generally safe to knit on the couch. Not since Beulah learned to jump up onto it. (The dog has a freakish attraction to any ball of yarn, particularly the nice stuff)

The second is that I can now keep an eye on two rooms at the same time.


Beulah, sometimes known as "Trouble," isn't safe anywhere these days!

peek inside my pad

Here's a little glimpse of inside my humble abode...


As the winter closes in around me I find that shots of color make for a comforting indoor ambiance. These are just some bits and pieces of the whole. I'm spending my evenings enjoying the candlelight and decorating my new place (yeah, the one I don't actually have yet) in my head. Polish pottery seems to be a running thread...

a wee tad nippy

Oh man, ya'll. It's cold here. I can't decide if it's as cold as I think it is, or if I'm just being a sissy. There is some evidence to that effect. Seems my bedroom doesn't heat up at all, resulting in a cold wake-up, followed by a cold puppy-potty-break, followed by a shower where I get out into the (you guessed it) cold. What is this??? December??

drool away

Since I was talking about it this morning, I thought you might like to see this beautiful yarn I have waiting for me to complete Christmas Knitting.


Go ahead and drool. I am. I want to start knitting these so bad I can hardly stand it. You'd think this would make me knit the other stuff faster, but not so much. Maybe tonight I'll make some headway and by the weekend I can touch one of these babies.

more knitting

Despite my bragging about my progress in Christmas knitting, there is still a fair amount of it going on in Chez Emily. I feel pretty comfortable talking about the remainder of it here, as it is all for Jason now. Almost certain he doesn't read this, at least let's hope not!

I'm busily knitting along, trying to finish up a pair of socks, a hat and a scarf before the big day. It's nice to have a stack of good yarn in a variety of soothing green shades and a few simple patterns to follow. This is the kind of knitting I like to do. Simple, practical and yet attractive and pleasant to the touch. Not to mention, it's so satisfying to complete a simple project and know that it has a use!

As soon as I get done with this last project I plan to start in on a few items for myself. It will be the first time this year I will have time to sit and knit for me. There's a beautiful stack of gorgeous yarn just staring at me, calling my name, trying to distract me from my goals!! I can't wait to dig in!

(post) weekend update

I would like to be able to report all the nifty and fun things I did this last weekend. How I saw some more of the neato sights right outside my door (I do live about 10 minutes from the nation's capital, after all). That hike I've been meaning to take Beulah on for a few weeks now. Maybe a nice little local coffee shop I discovered....

However, there was none of that. Man, we were tired! Both Beulah and I did more than our fair share of napping and my stack of books is getting just a wee bit smaller. I kind of want to feel bad about our laziness, but now that I think about it - I think it was just what the doctor ordered. Sometimes you just have to stay in and enjoy being lazy. After all, it's back to business today and already the week is shaping up to be a busy one. Round about Wednesday I expect I'll be looking back at the weekend, wishing I was still lounging on the couch with a cuddle-pup. Not such a bad thing after all.

top 5

5 Sources of Happiness (even on a Monday morning)

1. Snow! (Just a dusting this morning, but I'll take it!)
2. Christmas is coming, and I am down to the very last of the knitting
3. Coffee is good; so is mulled wine
4. The heat in my office is finally working!!!!! (This is a BIG deal around here!)
5. I'm starting to get excited about the upcoming year. So many things I hope to accomplish!
   

It's beginning to look an awful lot like Christmas around here.

Now, if only it would snow!

going bamboo

What does it say that I've been starting to seriously think about raising chickens? That is, of course, when I get my little country hideaway. (Note: I do not plan to raise chickens within city limits/in my apartment) Yeah, as I think more and more about the kind of lifestyle I would like to lead and the kind of place I would like to live, chickens seem to be poking their heads into the equation. Maybe just one or two heritage chickens.... for eggs. How hard can it be?

knit to the finish

It's finally happening. The moment I've been waiting for - working for - for about a month now...

I'm almost done with Christmas knitting! Whoo hoo!

As I knit my way through a number of projects, I came to a realization. I love to knit and I love yarn, but the projects I really enjoy are simple and practical. Unlike many folks who really get into creating beautiful pieces that are meant to be admired without necessarily a lot of touching, I am a practical kind of gal. Socks, scarves, blankets and hats are my cup of tea. The joy comes in making something that can keep the recipient warm, or feel soft against their skin. Things that have a purpose. Maybe that's not the most "artistic" way to go about things, but that is my niche. Pretty, but practical.

out & about

Last weekend I found myself smack in the middle of D.C., seeing the sights.

Although my friend and I took a few photos in front of memorable buildings (like the Capital building above) we spent the majority of our time at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural Science. That place is amazing! Maria, Aiden and I spent about four hours inside and only hit up maybe half of the joint.


Little Aiden (5-years-old and full of energy) loved the elephant in the entryway and the dinosaur bones. Maria and I were personally more interested in the Hope Diamond...

I'll have to make a return trip (or two) to see the rest of the museum!

knitting geekery

Oh man, don't judge me too harshly here, but... I totally want to make one of these!

It's called the "Urban Troubadour" and it is "an original colourful modern rendition of a medieval cowl by Belgian designer Mary-Lena Lynx. It can be worn as a hood or a capelet by either sex. It comes in two colourways both dyed with dyes that could have been used 800 years ago in the time of the troubadour."

Maybe a project for the new year? Do I have the fortitude to knit 10 pages of charted instructions? I think this may be my Everest.

(Photos courtesy of Mary Lena Lynx on Ravelry. So pretty!)